To the editor:
Wilton’s “Meet the Candidates” event on Tuesday February 25 allowed voters to learn views about local affairs held by candidates for elective offices.
I asked Select Board candidates how they would eliminate the frequently acrimonious exchanges among board members that occasionally escalated such that they shout at and belittle townspeople speaking during Public Comments. The candidates’ responses to my question begin at about 56:15 minutes in the live stream.
Selectman Kermit Williams responded that he treats everyone respectfully, that board members resolve differences respectfully, and that he knew of no “aggressively acrimonious” incidents during board meetings.
This is not true.
He has verbally attacked me after publicly voicing my disagreement or disapproval of his actions. One incident occurred during the Aug. 27, 2018 meeting and my account appeared in the Monadnock Ledger Transcript, page 8 on Thursday September 20, 2018 titled “Lack of Civility at Wilton Meeting.”
I referenced the live-streamed meeting proceedings and approximate time when Mr. Williams initiated his humiliating, vicious, personal invective and permitted Selectman Matt Fish to do the same. Selectwoman Kellie-Sue Boissonnault, then official board chair, was vacationing so Mr. Williams, acting chair, was fully responsible for the proceedings. My account of the incident can be verified at www.townhallstreams.com or in the Ledger Transcript’s publicly available archives.
I emphasize that my experience is not unique. People who attend or view Select Board meetings have witnessed Mr. Williams’ contentious, disrespectful conduct and outbursts.
Mr. Williams’ campaign slogan is “Experience Matters.” Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech suggests that we should judge Mr. Williams by the content of his character, possibly a more important criterion than his experience as a politician.
Ruth Smith
Wilton